Nicolaus copernicus biography summary template

Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn's frequently odd motion could also now be attributed to their positions outside of Earth's orbit, where they rotated around the Sun more slowly. Thus, Copernicus was able to demonstrate that the then-observable planets were Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, in that order of distance from the Sun. Copernicus' six-volume book De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Sphereswhich wasn't published until CE, contained all these revolutionary insights.

The author may have been waiting because he was worried about how the public would react, but it is much more likely that he was still struggling with the mathematical details and issues. In fact, Copernicus acknowledged that his work was written for mathematicians and that few people outside the field would have understood it. It appears the author tried to minimise the focus on the real world and concentrate on theoretical mathematics by changing the original title from Spheres of the World to Heavenly Spheres.

But there were still a lot of issues to resolve. The predominant explanation for the observable phenomena of gravity—that objects fell to the earth because the Earth was at the centre of the universe—had been replaced by Copernicus' idea. Copernicus' continued lack of information on the fact that planetary orbits were not perfect circles was another issue.

Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer, later proposed that the orbits were elliptical. Nicolaus Copernicus published a list of seven axioms establishments concerning the universe in Technically, modern astronomy was founded on these seven assumptions.

Nicolaus copernicus biography summary template: Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer and

There is no one centre in the universe. The Earth's centre is not the centre of the universe. The centre of the universe is near the Sun. The nicolaus copernicus biography summary template from the Earth to the Sun is imperceptible compared with the distance to the stars. The rotation of the Earth accounts for the apparent daily rotation of the stars.

The apparent annual cycle of motion of the Sun is caused by the Earth revolving around it. The apparent retrograde motion of the planets is caused by the motion of the Earth from which one observes. Copernicus' theories completely contradicted the traditional concept of humanity's place in the universe as presented by the Catholic Church, which was much more troubling than these physics-related issues.

The anthropocentric model, which held that the Sun and Moon revolve around the Earth as its centre, was consistent with the notion that God created humans to be the universe's primary focus and its ultimate purpose. His second book on the topic, De revolutionibus orbium coelestiumwas banned by the Roman Catholic Church decades after his May 24, death in Frombork.

The fourth and youngest child born to Nicolaus Copernicus Sr. By the time he was born, Torun had ceded to Poland, rendering him a citizen under the Polish crown. German was Copernicus' first language, but some scholars believe that he spoke some Polish as well. During the mids, Copernicus' father passed away. His maternal uncle, Bishop of Varmia Lucas Watzenrode, generously assumed a paternal role, taking it upon himself to ensure that Copernicus received the best possible education.

InCopernicus entered the University of Cracow, where he studied painting and mathematics. He also developed a growing interest in the cosmos and started collecting books on the topic. By mid-decade, Copernicus received a Frombork canon cathedral appointment, holding onto the job for the rest of his life. It was a fortunate stroke: The canon's position afforded him the opportunity to fund the continuation of his studies for as long as he liked.

Still, the job demanded much of his schedule; he was only able to pursue his academic interests intermittently, during his free time. InCopernicus took leave and traveled to Italy, where he enrolled in a religious law program at the University of Bologna. There, he met astronomer Domenico Maria Novara — a fateful encounter, as the two began exchanging astronomical ideas and observations, ultimately becoming housemates.

Historian Edward Rosen described the relationship as follows: "In establishing close contact with Novara, Copernicus met, perhaps for the first time in his life, a mind that dared to challenge the authority of [astrologist Claudius Ptolemy] the most eminent ancient writer in his chosen fields of study. InCopernicus went on to study practical medicine at the University of Padua.

He did not, however, stay long enough to earn a degree, since the two-year nicolaus copernicus biography summary template of absence from his canon position was nearing expiration. InCopernicus attended the University of Ferrara, where he took the necessary exams to earn his doctorate in canon law. He hurried back home to Poland, where he resumed his position as canon and rejoined his uncle at an Episcopal palace.

Copernicus remained at the Lidzbark-Warminski residence for the next several years, working and tending to his elderly, ailing uncle and exploring astronomy. InCopernicus moved to a residence in the Frombork cathedral chapter. He would live there as a canon for the duration of his life. The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia enjoyed substantial autonomywith its own diet parliament and monetary unit the same as in the other parts of Royal Prussia and treasury.

Copernicus was his uncle's secretary and physician from to or perhaps until his uncle's death on 29 March and resided in the Bishop's castle at Lidzbark Heilsbergwhere he began work on his heliocentric theory. In his official capacity, he took part in nearly all his uncle's political, ecclesiastic and administrative-economic duties. They are of three kinds—"moral," offering advice on how people should live; "pastoral", giving little pictures of shepherd life; and "amorous", comprising love poems.

They are arranged to follow one another in a regular rotation of subjects. Copernicus had translated the Greek verses into Latin prose, and he published his version as Theophilacti scolastici Simocati epistolae morales, rurales et amatoriae interpretatione latinawhich he dedicated to his uncle in gratitude for all the benefits he had received from him.

With this translation, Copernicus declared himself on the side of the humanists in the struggle over the question of whether Greek literature should be revived. Some time beforeCopernicus wrote an initial outline of his heliocentric nicolaus copernicus biography summary template known only from later transcripts, by the title perhaps given to it by a copyistNicolai Copernici de hypothesibus motuum coelestium a se constitutis commentariolus —commonly referred to as the Commentariolus.

It was a succinct theoretical description of the world's heliocentric mechanism, without mathematical apparatus, and differed in some important details of geometric construction from De revolutionibus ; but it was already based on the same assumptions regarding Earth's triple motions. The Commentarioluswhich Copernicus consciously saw as merely a first sketch for his planned book, was not intended for printed distribution.

The Commentariolus would appear complete in print for the first time only in It was only in early June that the chapter gave Copernicus an "external curia"—a house outside the defensive walls of the cathedral mount. In he purchased the northwestern tower within the walls of the Frombork stronghold. He would maintain both these residences to the end of his life, despite the devastation of the chapter's buildings by a raid against Frauenburg carried out by the Teutonic Order in Januaryduring which Copernicus's astronomical instruments were probably destroyed.

Copernicus conducted astronomical observations in — presumably from his external curia; and in —, from an unidentified "small tower" turriculausing primitive instruments modeled on ancient ones—the quadranttriquetrumarmillary sphere. At Frombork Copernicus conducted over half of his more than 60 registered astronomical observations. Having settled permanently at Frombork, where he would reside to the end of his life, with interruptions in — and —21, Copernicus found himself at the Warmia chapter's economic and administrative center, which was also one of Warmia's two chief centers of political life.

In the difficult, politically complex situation of Warmia, threatened externally by the Teutonic Order 's aggressions attacks by Teutonic bands; the Polish—Teutonic War of — ; Albert's plans to annex Warmiainternally subject to strong separatist pressures the selection of the prince-bishops of Warmia ; currency reformhe, together with part of the chapter, represented a program of strict cooperation with the Polish Crown and demonstrated in all his public activities the defense of his country against the Order's plans of conquest; proposals to unify its monetary system with the Polish Crown's; support for Poland's interests in the Warmia dominion's ecclesiastic administration that he was consciously a citizen of the Polish—Lithuanian Republic.

That same year before 8 November Copernicus assumed responsibility, as magister pistoriaefor administering the chapter's economic enterprises he would hold this office again inhaving already since fulfilled the duties of chancellor and visitor of the chapter's estates. His administrative and economic duties did not distract Copernicus, in —, from intensive observational activity.

The results of his observations of Mars and Saturn in this period, and especially a series of four observations of the Sun made inled to the discovery of the variability of Earth 's eccentricity and of the movement of the solar apogee in relation to the fixed starswhich in — prompted his first revisions of certain assumptions of his system. Some of the observations that he made in this period may have had a connection with a proposed reform of the Julian calendar made in the first half of at the request of the Bishop of FossombronePaul of Middelburg.

While there, he wrote a manuscript, Locationes mansorum desertorum Locations of Deserted Fiefswith a view to populating those fiefs with industrious farmers and so bolstering the economy of Warmia. He also represented the Polish side in the ensuing peace negotiations. Copernicus for years advised the Royal Prussian sejmik on monetary reformparticularly in the s when that was a major question in regional Prussian politics.

In it he formulated an early iteration of the theory called Gresham's lawthat "bad" debased coinage drives "good" un-debased coinage out of circulation—several decades before Thomas Gresham. He also, inset down a quantity theory of moneya principal concept in modern economics. Copernicus's recommendations on monetary reform were widely read by leaders of both Prussia and Poland in their attempts to stabilize currency.

The Pope was so pleased that he gave Widmanstetter a valuable gift. This is the only mention of a Copernicus almanac in the historical records. The "almanac" was likely Copernicus's tables of planetary positions. Wapowski's letter mentions Copernicus's theory about the motions of the Earth. Nothing came of Wapowski's request, because he died a couple of weeks later.

Copernicus was one of four candidates for the post, written in at the initiative of Tiedemann Giese ; but his candidacy was actually pro formasince Dantiscus had earlier been named coadjutor bishop to Ferber and since Dantiscus had the backing of Poland's King Sigismund I. But that autumn, their friendship was strained by suspicions over Copernicus's housekeeper, Anna Schilling, whom Dantiscus banished from Frombork in spring In his younger days, Copernicus the physician had treated his uncle, brother and other chapter members.

In treating such important patients, he sometimes sought consultations from other physicians, including the physician to Duke Albert and, by letter, the Polish Royal Physician. Copernicus went willingly; he had met von Kunheim during negotiations over reform of the coinage. And Copernicus had come to feel that Albert himself was not such a bad person; the two had many intellectual interests in common.

The Chapter readily gave Copernicus permission to go, as it wished to remain on good terms with the Duke, despite his Lutheran faith. In about a month the patient recovered, and Copernicus returned to Frombork. For a time, he continued to receive reports on von Kunheim's condition, and to send him medical advice by letter. Some of Copernicus's close friends turned Protestant, but Copernicus never showed a tendency in that direction.

The first attacks on him came from Protestants. In the play, Copernicus was caricatured as the eponymous Morosophus, a haughty, cold, aloof man who dabbled in astrologyconsidered himself inspired by God, and was rumored to have written a large work that was moldering in a chest. Elsewhere Protestants were the first to react to news of Copernicus's theory.

Melanchthon wrote:. Some people believe that it is excellent and correct to work out a thing as absurd as did that Sarmatian [i. Indeed, wise rulers should have curbed such light-mindedness. Nevertheless, ineight years after Copernicus's death, astronomer Erasmus Reinhold published, under the sponsorship of Copernicus's former military adversary, the Protestant Duke Albert, the Prussian Tablesa set of astronomical tables based on Copernicus's work.

Astronomers and astrologers quickly adopted it in place of its predecessors. Some time before Copernicus made available to friends his " Commentariolus " "Little Commentary"a manuscript describing his ideas about the heliocentric hypothesis. InJohann Albrecht Widmannstetter delivered a series of lectures in Rome outlining Copernicus's theory. Pope Clement VII and several Catholic cardinals heard the lectures and were interested in the theory.

Some years ago word reached me concerning your proficiency, of which everybody constantly spoke. At that time I began to have a very high regard for you For I had learned that you had not merely mastered the discoveries of the ancient astronomers uncommonly well but had also formulated a new cosmology. In it you maintain that the earth moves; that the sun occupies the lowest, and thus the central, place in the universe Therefore with the utmost earnestness I entreat you, most learned sir, unless I inconvenience you, to communicate this discovery of yours to scholars, and at the earliest possible moment to send me your writings on the sphere of the universe together with the tables and whatever else you have that is relevant to this subject By then, Copernicus's work was nearing its definitive form, and rumors about his theory had reached educated people all over Europe.

Despite urgings from many quarters, Copernicus delayed publication of his book, perhaps from fear of criticism—a fear delicately expressed in the subsequent dedication of his masterpiece to Pope Paul III. Scholars disagree on whether Copernicus's concern was limited to possible astronomical and philosophical objections, or whether he was also concerned about religious objections.

Copernicus was still working on De revolutionibus orbium coelestium even if not certain that he wanted to publish it when in Georg Joachim Rheticusa Wittenberg mathematician, arrived in Frombork. Philipp Melanchthona close theological ally of Martin Lutherhad arranged for Rheticus to visit several astronomers and study with them.

Rheticus became Copernicus's pupil, staying with him for two years and writing a book, Narratio prima First Accountoutlining the essence of Copernicus's theory. In Rheticus published a treatise on trigonometry by Copernicus later included as chapters 13 and 14 of Book I of De revolutionibus.

Nicolaus copernicus biography summary template: Nicolaus Copernicus proposed his theory

While Rheticus initially supervised the printing, he had to leave Nuremberg before it was completed, and he handed over the task of supervising the rest of the printing to a Lutheran theologian, Andreas Osiander. Osiander added an unauthorised and unsigned preface, defending Copernicus's work against those who might be offended by its novel hypotheses.

He argued that "different hypotheses are sometimes offered for one and the same motion [and therefore] the astronomer will take as his first choice that hypothesis which is the easiest to grasp. Toward the close ofCopernicus was seized with apoplexy and paralysis, and he died at age 70 on 24 May Copernicus was reportedly buried in Frombork Cathedral, where a epitaph stood until being defaced; it was replaced in For over two centuries, archaeologists searched the cathedral in vain for Copernicus's remains.

Efforts to locate them in, had come to nought. The discovery was announced only after further research, on 3 November Dariusz Zajdel of the Polish Police Central Forensic Laboratory used the skull to reconstruct a face that closely resembled the features—including a broken nose and a scar above the left eye—on a Copernicus self-portrait. The grave was in poor condition, and not all the remains of the skeleton were found; missing, among other things, was the lower jaw.

Copernicus's remains were reburied in the same spot in Frombork Cathedral where part of his skull and other bones had been found. A black granite tombstone identifies him as the founder of the heliocentric theory and also a church canon. The tombstone bears a representation of Copernicus's model of the Solar System—a golden Sun encircled by six of the planets.

Philolaus c. Thomas Heath gives the following English translation of Archimedes's text: [ 75 ]. You are now aware ['you' being King Gelon] that the "universe" is the name given by most astronomers to the sphere the centre of which is the centre of the earth, while its radius is equal to the straight line between the centre of the sun and the centre of the earth.

But Aristarchus has brought out a book consisting of certain hypotheseswherein it appears, as a consequence of the assumptions made, that the universe is many times greater than the "universe" just mentioned. His hypotheses are that the fixed stars and the sun remain unmoved, that the earth revolves about the sun on the circumference of a circle, the sun lying in the middle of the orbitand that the sphere of the fixed stars, situated about the same centre as the sun, is so great that the circle in which he supposes the earth to revolve bears such a proportion to the distance of the fixed stars as the centre of the sphere bears to its surface.

In an early unpublished manuscript of De Revolutionibus which still survivesCopernicus mentioned the non-heliocentric 'moving Earth' theory of Philolaus and the possibility that Aristarchus also had a 'moving Earth' theory though it is unlikely that he was aware that it was a heliocentric theory. He removed both references from his final published manuscript.

Copernicus was probably aware that Pythagoras's system involved a moving Earth. The Pythagorean system was mentioned by Aristotle. Copernicus owned a copy of Giorgio Valla's De expetendis et fugiendis nicolaus copernicus biography summary templatewhich included a translation of Plutarch's reference to Aristarchus's heliostaticism.

The prevailing theory during Copernicus's lifetime was the one that Ptolemy published in his Almagest c. Stars were embedded in a large outer sphere that rotated rapidly, approximately daily, while each of the planets, the Sun, and the Moon were embedded in their own, smaller spheres. Ptolemy's system employed devices, including epicycles, deferents and equantsto account for observations that the paths of these bodies differed from simple, circular orbits centered on the Earth.

In the 12th century, Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji proposed a complete alternative to the Ptolemaic system although not heliocentric. Mathematical techniques developed in the 13th to 14th centuries by Mo'ayyeduddin al-UrdiNasir al-Din al-Tusiand Ibn al-Shatir for geocentric models of planetary motions closely resemble some of those used later by Copernicus in his heliocentric models.

One possible route of transmission may have been through Byzantine science ; Gregory Chioniades translated some of al-Tusi's works from Arabic into Byzantine Greek. Several Byzantine Greek manuscripts containing the Tusi-couple are still extant in Italy. He had formulated his theory by That person in turn copied the document for further circulation, and presumably the new recipients did, too Copernicus's Commentariolus summarized his heliocentric theory.

It listed the "assumptions" upon which the theory was based, as follows: [ ]. De revolutionibus itself was divided into six sections or parts, called "books": [ ]. Georg Joachim Rheticus could have been Copernicus's successor, but did not rise to the occasion. Despite the near universal acceptance later of the heliocentric idea though not the epicycles or the circular orbitsCopernicus's theory was originally slow to catch on.

Arthur Koestlerin his popular book The Sleepwalkersasserted that Copernicus's book had not been widely read on its first publication. Gingerich published his conclusions in in The Book Nobody Read. The intellectual climate of the time "remained dominated by Aristotelian philosophy and the corresponding Ptolemaic astronomy. At that time there was no nicolaus copernicus biography summary template to accept the Copernican theory, except for its mathematical simplicity [by avoiding using the equant in determining planetary positions].

It was only a half-century later with the work of Kepler and Galileo that any substantial evidence defending Copernicanism appeared, starting "from the time when Galileo formulated the principle of inertia The immediate result of the publication of Copernicus's book was only mild controversy. At the Council of Trent — neither Copernicus's theory nor calendar reform which would later use tables deduced from Copernicus's calculations were discussed.

Catholic side opposition only commenced seventy-three years later, when it was occasioned by Galileo. The first notable to move against Copernicanism was the Magister of the Holy Palace i. Mark in Florence. Tolosani had written a treatise on reforming the calendar in which astronomy would play a large role and had attended the Fifth Lateran Council — to discuss the matter.

He had obtained a copy of De Revolutionibus in His denunciation of Copernicanism was written a year later, inin an appendix to his unpublished work, On the Truth of Sacred Scripture. Emulating the rationalistic style of Thomas AquinasTolosani sought to refute Copernicanism by philosophical argument. Copernicanism was absurd, according to Tolosani, because it was scientifically unproven and unfounded.

First, Copernicus had assumed the motion of the Earth but offered no physical theory whereby one would deduce this motion.

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No one realized that the investigation into Copernicanism would result in a rethinking of the entire field of physics. Second, Tolosani charged that Copernicus's thought process was backwards. He held that Copernicus had come up with his idea and then sought phenomena that would support it, rather than observing phenomena and deducing from them the idea of what caused them.

In this, Tolosani was linking Copernicus's mathematical equations with the practices of the Pythagoreans whom Aristotle had made arguments against, which were later picked up by Thomas Aquinas. It was argued that mathematical numbers were a mere product of the intellect without any physical reality, and as such could not provide physical causes in the investigation of nature.

Some astronomical hypotheses at the time such as epicycles and eccentrics were seen as mere mathematical devices to adjust calculations of where the heavenly bodies would appear, rather than an explanation of the cause of those motions. As Copernicus still maintained the idea of perfectly spherical orbits, he relied on epicycles. This "saving the phenomena" was seen as proof that astronomy and mathematics could not be taken as serious means to determine physical causes.

Tolosani invoked this view in his final critique of Copernicus, saying that his biggest error was that he had started with "inferior" fields of science to make pronouncements about "superior" fields. Copernicus had used mathematics and astronomy to postulate about physics and cosmology, rather than beginning with the accepted principles of physics and cosmology to determine things about astronomy and mathematics.

Thus Copernicus seemed to be undermining the whole system of the philosophy of science at the time. A century later, Galileo would confirm this theory. Anyway, he believed that all the planets followed a perfectly circular path around the Sun. This, to this day, is proven not to be the case, since the Earth and the other planets in the Solar System follow elliptical paths.

We speak of the Copernican revolution because Copernicus was the one who laid the foundations not only of modern astronomy, but of science in general.

Nicolaus copernicus biography summary template: Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February

The heliocentric theory of Copernicus gave rise to classical physics, which was continued by figures such as Galileo, who would describe in more detail the movements of the planets around the Sun, and Newton, who would present the laws of motion and universal gravitation. All of this would not have been possible without the studies of Copernicus.

One of the main contributions of Copernicus was to establish a new conception of the alignment of the planets. And it is that at that time, in addition to believing that they circled the Sun, which Copernicus denied with his famous theory, it was thought that all the planets rotated at the same speed. Copernicus realized that the greater the radius of the planet's orbit, the less quickly it rotated around the Sun.

And it is that Mercury rotated much faster than Saturn, for example. It is worth mentioning that at that time neither Uranus nor Neptune had yet been discovered. Today it is known that this is due to the fact that the greater the distance from the Sun, the lower the gravitational attraction suffered by the planet, which translates into a lower rotation speed.

Therefore, it takes Mercury 58 days to go around the Sun and Neptune, the furthest, years. Until that moment it was believed that the cycle of day and night was due to the turns that the Sun made around the Earth, which was kept perfectly static. Copernicus, saying that it was the Earth that circled the Sun, had to solve the problem of why the Sun rose and set every day.

To explain it, he said that the Earth revolved around itself with a hour cycle we now know that it is exactly 23 hours and 56 minutes. This, which seems so obvious to us, was a real revolution. Copernicus not only affirmed that the Earth went around the Sun, but that it made this rotational movement in such a way that each year it represented one revolution.

This rotational movement of the Earth is evidently confirmed. For this reason, Copernicus was also important in reforming the Julian calendar, which had problems in this regard. Thanks to Copernicus, over the years, the Gregorian calendar was established, which is the one we use today. Copernicus said that the Earth and the other planets revolved around the Sun, but that did not mean that the entire Cosmos did.